Cat CEO Doug Oberhelman impressed by State of Union

PEORIA — Attending his first State of the Union address was an exhilarating experience for Caterpillar Inc. Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman.

"Every American should have the experience of attending — to view the American system of government in its most regal form," said Oberhelman, who attended as a guest of U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, and returned from Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

"Regardless of all the dysfunctional politics we hear about, you see the Cabinet, Supreme Court, members of the armed forces all coming in. There's no partisanship — at least not that one might notice. It made me quite proud," he said.

As for the speech itself, Oberhelman said he was pleased to hear President Obama tout the need for a bill to address the nation's infrastructure.

"That's something that Caterpillar has been calling for some time, certainly with some regularity over the last few months. This nation is at risk of losing its competitive edge. There seems to be growing realization of that," he said.

Earlier this month, Caterpillar group President Stu Levenick called for Congress to pass a multi-year surface transportation bill. "While other parts of the world are integrating and modernizing their infrastructure to meet the economic challenges of the 21st century, we are failing to act comprehensively and decisively," Levenick told a congressional committee.

Oberhelman has touted the need for infrastructure reform for years. In 2011, he told CNBC the condition of the nation's infrastructure made it tough to ship Caterpillar products around the world. "It's every day harder and harder and harder, because we're clogged, we're antiquated, we've not invested in those transportation systems," said Oberhelman.

In his speech Tuesday, Obama called for lawmakers to pass surface and waterway transportation funding bills by this summer before the present highway bill expires on Sept. 30.

Oberhelman said he was optimistic about other items on the administration's agenda. "Issues like tax and immigration reform are on everybody's list," he said.

Steve Tarter can be reached at 686-3260 or starter@pjstar.com. Follow his blog, Minding Business, on pjstar.com and follow him on Twitter @SteveTarter.